The future of Benton Harbor’s Rite Aid Pharmacy in the Fairplain Plaza is about as murky as the fog the building is almost completely enveloped in today. Store employees have apparently been informed that the store will be closing, and most evidence today points to that being a fact.
Fairplain Plaza developers at Lormax Stern Development in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan recently erected a sizable “Building for Lease” sign directly in front of the more than 11,000 square foot store, and their own development site plan map, as shown below, marks the space as “Available,” and highlights it in yellow.
Andrew Luckoff is the Leasing Agent for Lormax Stern in the case of the Fairplain Plaza Shopping Center at the corner of M-139 and Napier in Benton Charter Township and it’s his number that is offered up to potential retailers interested in the property. He says that Rite Aid’s lease is expiring and they elected not to renew. As to when the 11,180 square foot store will be available, Luckoff would only say it would be “in the spring,” with no further pinpoint. Interested parties can reach him at 248-737-7110 to negotiate a lease for that high traffic site.
One clerk in the pharmacy department verified for customers that the store is closing and expressed sadness over being out of a job soon. Her indication was that the Rite Aid brand would close at 1701 M-139 “by mid-March,” or roughly a month from now.
That corner is still one of the busiest intersections in Berrien County with MDOT traffic counts showing more than 13,000 vehicles a day traversing Napier Avenue there and nearly 15,000 a day tabulated on M-139 at that juncture.
Rite Aid has had a presence at that corner for many years, but took a traffic hit through the doors when Walgreens established a sizable presence directly opposite the store some years later.
The impending departure of Rite Aid in Benton Township will leave customers with three other options in the immediate area including Rite Aid stores at 6535 Paw Paw Avenue in Coloma, 612 St. Joseph Avenue in Berrien Springs, and 3681 Shawnee Road in Bridgman.
